The 4 Best Places to Order Your Heritage Thanksgiving Turkey

Every year there seems to be new tips and tricks for cooking a turkey—brining, deep-frying, tenting, adding a pound of butter under the skin—each alleging juicier meat, crispier skin, and more flavor. And then there’s chef Mary Risley and her liberating words of wisdom: “Just put the f*cking turkey in the oven. Don’t worry about it. Turkey really never tastes good.” Whether you’re a culinary interventionist or more of a laissez-faire Thanksgiving chef, there is one thing you can do to set yourself up for success from the very beginning: Buy a fantastic turkey.

The typical turkey that finds its way onto American tables is a Broad Breasted White—bred to grow quickly and produce lots of breast meat. This year, try a heritage turkey. Heritage birds are more closely related to ancestral wild turkeys and, unlike their industrially bred counterparts, are able to breed naturally, run, and fly. These differences result in more thigh meat and less breast meat (a close to 50/50 ratio), more intense flavor, and the birds generally take less time to cook. Though be forewarned: The fancier bird comes with a fancier price tag: A 20-pound Butterball will cost around $30, while a similarly sized heritage bird will run closer to $120.

Here, four places selling top-notch heritage turkeys fresh and ready to cook for your Thanksgiving feast. Just remember to buy a big enough bird: 1 to 1 1/2 pounds per guest should ensure plenty of leftovers. And if you’d rather go directly to the source to pick up your turkey, check out LocalHarvest to find farms near you.

This family-owned Wisconsin farm has been raising heritage American Bronze Turkeys since 1999. Each bird is allowed to roam freely (guarded by their collie, Jack) and are not fed animal by-products or hormones.

The Ranch has been operating since the’50s and also raises heritage chickens, ducks, and geese on its Kansas property with the aim of restoring the presence of these heritage breeds to American farms. They offer five varieties of heritage turkeys—including the Standard Bronze, the biggest American turkey, weighing in between 20 and 36 pounds.